Sailing Set to Race at Five Regattas This Weekend

The Crimson splits up for five regattas week 2 (photo courtesy Athletic Communications).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard sailing teams will split up for five regattas this weekend, as the women compete at the 18th Mrs. Hurst Bowl at Dartmouth and the Regis Bowl at Boston University, while the coeds sail in the Nevin's Trophy at King's Point and the Hatch Brown Trophy at MIT. The Crimson will also sail at the Boston Harbor Invitational hosted by Boston College and the BU Invitational hosted by the Terriers.

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Last Time on the Water On its first weekend of racing this autumn, Harvard turned in a trio of top-five performances in four regattas. The Crimson claimed its first victory of the season at the Harvard Invitational, took second at the 39th Harry Anderson Trophy and placed fifth at the Lark Invitational. The women finished seventh at the Toni Deutsch Trophy.

About the Hatch Brown Trophy At the Hatch Brown Trophy, 17 teams, including 10 ranked squads, will take the water. The intersectional, three division, coed regatta, hosted by BU at MIT, will be raced in FJ's and Fireflies with the three divisions switching between the classes. Last season, Harvard placed 10th overall.

About the 64th Nevins Trophy The Nevins Trophy, at the US Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point, features a field of 20 teams that includes 14 in the top-20. The three-division, intersectional event has the A division and B division rotating between FJs and 420s, while the C division will sail Laser Full Rigs. The Crimson finished 11th in the B and C divisions last season, to lead the team to a 14th-place finish.

About the 18th Mrs. Hurst Bowl The 18th Mrs. Bowl marks the first ever two-fleet regatta on Mascoma Lake. Sixteen teams will clash on the water in Hanover, N.H., at the two-division, intersectional event. All divisions will compete in 420s. A year ago, Harvard tallied 277 team points, good for 13th place and finished ahead of local opponents Boston University and Northeastern.

About the Invites Nine teams will compete on the Charles River at the BU Invitational. The Invite is a two-division, in-conference event with all divisions racing in FJs.

The Boston Harbor Invite, hosted by Boston College, will see a number of top-ranked teams competing in an in-conference regatta sailing FJs.

Moving Up After a weekend of three top-five finishes, Harvard's coed sailing team has moved up to No. 10 in the SailingWorld.com rankings, presented by Sperry Top-Sider. The Crimson was initially ranked 16th in the national preseason poll. Harvard is one-of-four Ivy League schools to make the list, trailing No. 1 Yale, No. 5 Dartmouth and No. 6 Brown.

To Be the Best, You Have to Beat the Best This weekend the Crimson coeds will face 16 of the top-20 ranked schools on the water including top-seeded Yale at the Hatch Brown Trophy, the 64th Nevins Trophy and the Boston Harbor Invitational. Seven of the women's weekend opponents are currently ranked in SailingWorld.com's poll including No. 1 Boston College, No. 2 Dartmouth and No. 3 Yale.

Forecast Boats will take the water Saturday morning with south winds blowing 5 to 10 knots, which will increase to 10 to 15 knots, with gusts up to 20 knots in the afternoon. Sailors will face similar conditions Sunday, with a south breeze blowing 10 to 15 knots, however, showers are likely.

Coming Up Next weekend the NEISA men's singlehanded champion will be crowed at Yale. The Crimson coeds will compete at the 31st Hood Trophy Sept. 28-29 while the women take the water at the Regis Bowl.